Tru-skool disciple Gantz bestows two thaumaturgic system shakers on Deep Medi in the form of ‘Spry Sinister’ and a collaboration with El Mahdy Jr , ‘Rising’. A special attention towards raw, totemic percussion and dread inducing b-lines has always been the focus of Mala’s label, and in the past couple months producers like Gantz himself, Finland’s LAS and Mikael as well as Vivek’s SYSTEM label have been pushing a resurgent sound that is foundation focused, yet possesses contemporary production values. MEDI078 rings in 2014 by showing exactly why the Deep Medi label is so vital, as tastemakers, in the scene.
‘Spry Sinister’ plunges the depths with dissipating harmonic clouds of minor piano chords that float just beyond earshot. Eidolic nyabinghi rolls emerge from dubspace as roughly-hewn and earthen worked drums ratchet the tension until Gantz unleashes some sacred vocal splicing that becomes a psychotomimetic mantra reminiscent of Chicago footwork producers like DJ Rashad and DJ Spinn. Underneath the top end, a lurching, almost Mala-esque bassline encourages the body to get its skank on and this writer has no problem resolving that.
Down below, Gantz and partner in crime El Mahdy Jr serve up ‘Rising’. Swirling drones intermingle with exotic melodies, while adhans from the muezzin raise skyward, all carried by a warm, rolling sub formation. Grime-like orchestral flourishes slash back and forth as more wistful cries echo only to find no listener, forever being the subject to the impatient desert wind that brushes the cheeks of spice traders, atop their howdahs, directing great, sinuous processions of dromedary across the industrial wastes that separate the world cities.
MEDI078 proves to not only be another stellar release from the Deep Medi camp – who, needless to say, has been dropping some serious tunes on us recently – but also elevates Gantz into the upper echelons of current producers who are taking the foundation aesthetic and developing their own vision of it.
MEDI078 is available from the Deep Medi Store.
